This invention relates to magnetic tape player systems generally and, more particularly, to continuous loop, multiple track tape cartridges and the means for driving the tape through said cartridges in a reverse or fast forward direction when fully inserted in a cartridge tape player.
Cartridge tape players have been in use in the home and in automobiles for many years and have been very popular since their introduction into the magnetic tape market. However, there have been several continuing needs relating to this product which have not been fully satisfied.
The use of cartridge-type tape player entertainment units in automobiles, for example, has created a need to reduce the overall size of the cartridge tape player system. This requirement results from the necessity to efficiently use the available space on dashboards of automobiles for originally installed equipment, the realization that smaller units usually result in less cost, the lack of available space underneath automobile dashboards for placing entertainment units which are not original equipment and the general desirability and appeal of the slim-line look. Thus, there is a continuous need in the automotive entertainment industry to make entertainment type units which are thin in vertical dimension and generally compact. This need is not so apparent in the home entertainment field.
A more substantial need which has defied resolution until recently, is that cartridge type tape player systems are not reversible whereas reel to reel tape player systems and cassette tape player systems are reversible. This failure has placed tape player market systems at a competitive disadvantage in comparison to the other tape systems. Further absent a reverse capability, a tape cartridge system with a record capability has little or no appeal. Consequently, the need for entertainment units which can record as well as playback magnetic tapes has been largely filled by reel to reel or cassette systems. The reason is obvious. In present day cartridge tape player systems the user is unable to quickly move the tape in the cartridge to a preselected point for playing or recording except by moving it in a fast forward direction. That is, if a desired recording on the tape is to be played or if it desired to record at a predetermined location on the tape, such as immediately following a recording error, it is necessary to wind the tape all the way through the cartridge in a forward direction in order to get to the desired point. Users find this shortcoming highly unsatisfactory, even though a fast forward mode is provided. On the other hand, with a reversible tape feature, it would be highly desirable in many instances to quickly reverse wind the cartridge to the desired location on the tape.
Recently a 1 inch high cartridge tape player has been proposed and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,365 which is assigned to the same assignee as is assigned the present application. While the proposed system is a substantial advance in building a thin cartridge tape player system, it is not reversible.
Similarly, a reversible cartridge tape player system has been recently proposed and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,699 which is assigned to the same assignee as is assigned the present application. Here again, while that disclosed system is a very significant and substantial contribution to the art of making cartridge tape players the disclosed reverse mechanism results in a bulky type player which is suitable for use in the home, but which is not suitable for use in the car because it is not able to accomodate the principle of spacesaving thinness which is of paramount importance in the present automobile cartridge tape player market.
At the present time there is no known one inch high reversible cartridge tape player for automobiles.
The present invention overcomes the aforesaid shortcomings by providing not only new means of driving the tape in reverse in a cartridge but also an improved tape player drive mechanism which accomodates the principle of thinness and compactness in the vertical dimension.